Antenna rotator



D. E. GRAY ANTENNA ROTATOR Dec. 20, 1955 Filed Oct INVhN/OR. flan/41.0 f. @wy

A/VQF/VEV United States Patent ANTENNA R le- R Donald E.. Gray, Seaside Bark, N. J., assignorto Radiart Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a eorporationof ,Ohio

Ap fi to 4.. .4. swam Arms 4 Claims. (Cl. 74-507) This invention is concerned withadirectional antenna rotator. More specifically, the invention deals with an antenna rotator that is particularly adapted forusc with the usualdirectional antenna that is employed widely for TV reception.

Heretofore various schemes for adjustably rotating the directional antenna and obtaining an indication of .the position thereof havebeen attempted. However, various drawbacks are involved which often concern the complication and expense involved in the necessary equipment.

Consequently it is an obiectof this .inventionto provide a directional antenna rotatorthat is compact and simple, while being extremely reliablein its operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple mechanical rotator for positioning a directional antenna that involves a minimumof mechanical elements, and in addition, one that is adaptable for :being mounted on an already existing non-rotatable directional antenna.

Briefly, the invention involves an antenna .rotator for a directional type antenna that has an upright shaft for supporting said antenna. Such rotator comprises a housing having bearings therein for supporting said shaft, an additional shaft for supporting said housing, a gear mounted on said first named antenna shaft, and a worm meshing with said gear. Also, a flexible coupling means connecting to said worm, and means for turning said flexible coupling means to drive said worm and position said antenna shaft.

A specific embodiment of this invention is .described in some detail below and illustrated in the drawings, which Fig. l is a perspective view illustrating a directional antenna mounted on the chimney .of a house and including a rotator according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the details of the rotator including manual rotation means to be remotely located; and

Pig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. i there is illustrated one (probably most wides read) usage for the rotator of this invention. There is illustrated a house 11 having a directional antenna 12 mounted in any convenient manner from a high portion of the house 11. By way of example, there is shown .one common method of mounting such an antenna that employs straps 13 which surround the chimney of the house 11 and are clamped on to the lower extremity of a shaft 14 generally indicated by an arrow in Fig. 1. Located on the shaft 14 there is shown an antenna rptator 15 according to this invention.

Turning to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the rotator 15 is adapted to act as a connecting link between twp sections 14:: and 14b of the directional antenna supporting shaft 14. The section 14a of the shaft 14 is mounted in a generally vertical position and is rotatably supported by a housing 17 which may take various forms. Preferably, the housing 17 has the form illustrated, and includes a shell 18 that is circular in cross-section and that has a bullet-shaped, progressivelyreduceddiameter-top 19 integrallyattached to the shell 13. Centrally located in the top .19 there is a'hole for admitting the shaft 14a-therethrough. Located within the shell 18, at the bottom thereof, there is a base 20that may be constructed of any suitable material, .e. g. aluminum. or the like. The base 20 issecured in place at the bottom of the shell 18 .by means of threebolts 21 that pass through holes in the .shell Y18 and are threadably received by tapped holes in thesides ofthebaseZO. Centrally located on the top side ,of the .base 20 there is .a thrust bearing 22 that receives the lower extremity of the shaft 14a and supports the same vertically, as well as horizontally. This bearing 22 is illustrated as being constructed of any convenient relativelysoft bearing material, e. g. babbitt, but may, .if desired, be constructed in the form of a ball bearing or the like.

Mounted within the shell 18, just below the top 19 thereof, there is a supporting disc 25 that carries at the .center thereof alate ral bearing 26 for giving lateral support -to .theshaft 14a while allowing free rotation thereof. It will be appreciated that the disc 25 may be in the form .of aspoked wheelor the like tosave material and Weight. The disc 25 .issecured in place within the shell 18 (of the housing 17) by means of a sufficient number of machine screws 27 that pass through holes in the shell 18 and are .threadably received by the disc 25. Similarly, as with the thrust bearing 22, lateral support bearing 26 is illustrated as .being constructed of any desirable bearing material, e. g. fiber, although here also a ball hearing may be employed if desired. Attached to a central hub portion 28 of the disc 25 there is a pin 29 that extends vertically downward to intercept the path traversed by a similar pin 30 that is secured to the shaft 14a in a radial position, so as to rotate therewith. The pin 29 :acts as a stop upon being contacted by the pin 30, so as to limit the rotation of shaft 14a to somewhat less than one complete revolution.

In order to prevent moisture from entering the housing 17 by running down the sides of shaft 14a, there is a resilient material snap-on collar 33 that is positionedon the shaft 14 so as to overlap the highest portion of the top 19 of the housing 17.

The housing 17 is supported by the lower section 14b of the shaft, which section is fastened on the inside of the shell 18 by means of a pair of bolts 34. It will be observed that the lower bolt 34 passes through a depending skirt portion 35 of the shell 18. There is an opening 36 in the .base 20 for the shaft section 14b to pass therethrough. As pointed out above, the section 1417 of the shaft 14 will be mounted by any convenient bracket arrangement, such as that illustrated using straps 13 around the chimney.

In order to rotate the shaft section 14a and the antenna 12, there is a gear 37 that is placed over the end of shaft section 1441 and is secured to the shaft in any convenient manner, as by means of a pin 38 illustrated. Meshing with the gear 37 there is a worm 39 that is journaled in a pair of supports 45) and 41. Attached to the worm 39 for rotation thereof, there is a flexible shaft 44 that is covered by sheathing 45. A convenient manner of leading the flexible shaft 44 and its sheathing 45' out, from within the housing 17, is that illustrated which employs a hole 46 in the shaft 14b so that the flexible shaft 44 may be led down within the hollow interior of shaft 14b, to then continue to any given remote location where there is situated a means for turning the flexible shaft 44 in rotation.

Such remote turning means includes a housing 49 that has bearings for rotatably supporting a worm 50 which is securely attached to the remote end of flexible shaft 44, and which has also connected thereto a crank handle 51 for manually rotating the worm 50. In order to indicate the geographical or rotative position of the antenna shaft 14a, there is a gear 52 that meshes with the worm 50 and that has a pointer 53 connected thereto. The pointer 53 cooperates with a calibrated dial 54 located on the face of the housing 49 of the remote positioning device.

Operation It will be noted that the operation of the rotator is quite simple and at the same time extremely reliable. The crank handle 51 is rotated as desired to produce maximum reception at the receiving set, or to turn the antenna shaft 14:: to a desired geographical position as indicated bythe pointer 53 in conjunction with the dial 54. Such turning of the crank handle 51 rotates the indicator gear 52 by means of the Worm Si while at the same time the flexible shaft 44 is directly rotated. In this manner the worm 39 located within the housing 17 of the rotator 15, is turned by therotation of the other end of flexible shaft 44 and consequently causes rotation of meshing gear 37 that is secured to the antenna shaft 14a. In this manner the antenna shaft 14a may be rotated as desired from a remote point, such as beside the television, or other receiver which employs the directional antenna 12.

The purpose of having a stop arrangement employing the pins 29 and '30 is to avoid excessive twisting of the antenna leads which extend down from the antenna 12 to the receiver.

It will be noted that the entire rotator according to this invention is extremely compact and yet simple in its design and operation. A meritorious feature is that concerning the adaptability of this rotator to an existing directional antenna supported by a standard sized shaft. It will be appreciated that an existing antenna shaft need merely be cut ofi at a desired height somewhat above its supporting brackets and then the two sections of the shaft as thus cut off, e. g. sections 14a and 14b, may be readily assembled in conjunction with the rotator housing 17 and its various elements. The procedure for such assembly will be clear to one skilled in the art. Thus, it will be appreciated that this rotator is extremely well adapted for use with a conventional style outdoor TV antenna having the usual support shaft.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described in detail in accordance with the applicable statutes, this description is not to be taken as in any way limiting the invention but merely as being thereof.

It is claimed:

1. An antenna rotator for a directional type antenna having an upright shaft for supporting said antenna comdescriptive prising a housing having bearings therein for supporting I i said shaft, said housing including a relatively elongated smooth exterior shell, said shell being circular in crosssection and having a progressively reduced diameter top with an axially located hole therein to receive said antenna shaft, a removable base at the bottom of said housing having a centrally located thrust bearing thereon for rotatably supporting said antenna shaft, a lateral support bearing spaced vertically from said thrust bearing, an additional shaft for supporting said housing, a gear mounted on said first named antenna shaft, a worm meshing with said gear, flexible coupling means connected to said worm, and'means for turning said flexible coupling means to drive said Worm and position said antenna shaft.

2. An antenna rotator for a directional type antenna having an upright shaft for supporting said antenna comprising a housing having bearings therein for supporting said shaft, said housing including a relatively elongated smooth exterior shell, said shell being circular in crosssection and having a progressively reduced diameter top with an axially located hole therein to receive said antenna shaft, a removable base at the bottom of said housing having a centrally located thrust bearing thereon for rotatably supporting said antenna shaft, a lateral support bearing spaced vertically fromsaid thrust bearing, an additional shaft extending beneath said housing, means for attaching said additional shaft to one side of said housing parallel to said first named antenna shaft, a gear mounted on said first named antenna shaft, a worm meshing with said gear, a single flexible shaft having one end thereof connected'to said worm, and manual rotation means connected to the other end of said flexible shaft including an indicator to indicate the rotative position of the antenna.

3. An antenna rotator for a directional type antenna having an upright shaft for supporting said antenna comprising a housing having bearings therein for supporting said shaft, said housing including a relatively elongated smooth exterior shell, said shell being circular in crosssection and having a progressively reduced diameter top with an axially located hole therein to receive said an tenna shaft, a removable base fitting within the bottom of said shell having a centrally located'thrust bearing thereon for rotatably supporting said antenna shaft, a lateral support bearing located just below said top, support means for said lateral bearing including a stop to prevent more than one complete revolution of said antenna shaft, an additional shaft extending beneath said housing, means for attaching said additional shaft to the interior of said shell and parallel to said antenna shaft, a gear mounted on said first named antenna shaft, a worm mounted on said base and meshing with said gear, a single flexible shaft having one end thereof connected to said worm, and manual rotation means connected to the other end of said flexible shaft including an indicator to indicate the rotative position of the antenna.

4. An antenna rotator for a directional type antenna having an upright shaft for supporting said antenna comprising a housing having bearings therein for supporting said shaft, said housing including a relatively elongated smooth exterior shell, said shell being circular in crosssection and having a progressively reduced diameter top with an axially located hole therein to receive said antenna shaft, a resilient collar tightly fitted onto said shaft and overlapping said top where the shaft enters, a removable base fitting Within the bottom of said shell having a centrally located thrust bearing thereon for rotatably supporting said antenna shaft, a lateral support bearing located just below said top, support means for said lateral bearing including a stop to prevent more than one complete revolution of said antenna shaft, an additional shaft extending beneath said housing, means for attaching said additional shaft to the interior of said shell and parallel to said antenna shaft, a gear mounted on said first named antenna shaft, a worm mounted on said base and meshing with said gear, a single flexible shaft having one end thereof connected to said worm, and manual rotation means connected to the other end of said flexible shaft including an indicator to indicate the rotative position of the antenna.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,932,816 Gargan et al. Oct. 31, 1933 1,987,997 Drake et al. Jan. 15, 1935 2,583,210 Edwards Jan. 22, 1952 2,598,383 Holzhauser May 27, 1952 

